EP2113832A1 - Support pour l'intégration de capacités de stockage de dispositifs de stockage multiples - Google Patents

Support pour l'intégration de capacités de stockage de dispositifs de stockage multiples Download PDF

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Publication number
EP2113832A1
EP2113832A1 EP08251548A EP08251548A EP2113832A1 EP 2113832 A1 EP2113832 A1 EP 2113832A1 EP 08251548 A EP08251548 A EP 08251548A EP 08251548 A EP08251548 A EP 08251548A EP 2113832 A1 EP2113832 A1 EP 2113832A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
memory card
medium
interface
module
memory
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP08251548A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Li-Ho Yao
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Stone Technology International Co Ltd
Original Assignee
Stone Technology International Co Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Stone Technology International Co Ltd filed Critical Stone Technology International Co Ltd
Priority to EP08251548A priority Critical patent/EP2113832A1/fr
Publication of EP2113832A1 publication Critical patent/EP2113832A1/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F13/00—Interconnection of, or transfer of information or other signals between, memories, input/output devices or central processing units
    • G06F13/38—Information transfer, e.g. on bus
    • G06F13/382—Information transfer, e.g. on bus using universal interface adapter
    • G06F13/385—Information transfer, e.g. on bus using universal interface adapter for adaptation of a particular data processing system to different peripheral devices

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a medium, and more particularly to a medium that integrates storing capacities of multiple storage devices as a single storing capacity.
  • Digital electronic products are popularly used, such as digital storage devices.
  • storage devices to connect to the digital electronic products.
  • hard drives and removable hard drives are often used as storage devices of desktops.
  • Memory cards and removable hard drives are often used as storage devices of laptops since the laptops have all-in-one memory card readers.
  • Memory cards are also often used as storage devices of consumer electronic products, such as cellphones, digital cameras, digital video cameras without hard drives or digital media players (MP3, MP4 or etc.).
  • MP3, MP4 or etc. digital media players
  • different brands or different versions of memory card often have different sizes and different storing capacities. Therefore, when a user owns a desktop, a laptop and a consumer electronic product, the user may require more than one type of storage devices to expand the storing capacity of the desktop, the laptop and the consumer electronic product. It is inconvenient for the user to manage and use the different types of storage devices. Also, the physical limitation of the small memory cards often result in wasted spaces which, when properly combined, can be made useful to the user.
  • the present invention provides a medium that integrates storing capacities of multiple storage devices to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.
  • the main objective of the invention is to provide a medium for integrating storing capacities of multiple storage devices as a single storing capacity.
  • the medium in accordance with the present invention comprises A medium for integrating storing capacities of multiple storage devices has multiple memory card connectors, a memory card interface management module, a control module and a communication interface.
  • Each memory card connector is used to connect to a memory card.
  • the memory card interface management module is connected to the memory card connectors.
  • the control module is connected to the memory card interface management module and stores a mount and unmount management process.
  • the control module executes the mount and unmount management process to integrate storing capacities of all connected memory cards into a single storing capacity and unintegrate the storing capacity of the impendingly removed memory cards from the storing capacity of all connected memory cards.
  • the communication interface is used to connect to a computer. Therefore, it is convenient for users to change the storing capacity of the medium based on different requirements.
  • a medium in accordance with the present invention comprises multiple memory card connectors (30), a memory card interface management module (20), a control module (10) and a communication interface (40).
  • Each memory card connector (30) may be a unitary communicating standard memory card connector or an all-in-one communicating standard memory card connector.
  • the unitary communicating standard memory card connector only allows identical communicating standard memory cards to be plugged in the said memory card connector.
  • the all-in-one communicating standard memory card connector allows all known communicating standard memory cards to be plugged in the said memory card connector.
  • the memory card may be a CompactFlash (CF) memory card, a Secure Digital (SD) memory card, a Multimedia card (MMC), a Memory Stick (MS) memory card, an Extreme Digital (xD) Picture card or the like.
  • the memory card interface management module (20) is connected to the memory card connectors (30) to control the connected memory card and may further comprise multiple memory card controllers (21), an interface controller (22) and at least one optional second interface connector (23).
  • the memory card controllers (21) are connected respectively to the memory card connectors (30).
  • the interface controller (22) is connected to the memory card controllers (21).
  • Each second interface connector (23) is connected to the interface controller (22), is used to connect to a memory device, such as a flash memory, and may be a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector.
  • a memory device such as a flash memory
  • USB Universal Serial Bus
  • the control module (10) has controlling, computing and data transforming capabilities, is connected to the memory card interface management module (20) through a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) interface to scan the memory card connectors (30) through the memory card interface management module (20), stores a mount and unmount management process, may be connected to the memory card controllers (21) and the second interface connector (23) through the interface controller (22) in the memory card interface management module (20) to scan the memory card connectors (30) and the second interface connector (23) and may be an integrated circuit (IC) numbered PNX1502.
  • PCI Peripheral Component Interconnect
  • control module (10) When the control module (10) detects either the memory card connectors (30) connected to at least one newly-added memory card or the second interface connector (23) connected to at least one newly-added memory device, the control module (10) will executes the mount and unmount management process to integrate storing capacities of all connected memory cards and the memory device into a single storing capacity. When one of the connected memory cards is intended to be removed, the control module (10) will executes the mount and unmount management process to move data stored in the impendingly removed memory card to other connected memory cards and memory devices and unmount the impendingly removed memory card from the medium.
  • the mount and unmount management process may be performed by a logical volume management (LVM) method to manage logical volumes.
  • a logical volume is an abstraction of a disk partition of a disk drive.
  • the LVM method is a disk partition method that provides higher level and efficiency solutions to manage storing capacities of disk drives than conventional disk partition method.
  • the LVM method can combine storing capacity of a newly-added disk drive with the storing capacities of the existing disk drives even the existing disk drives are operating because the LVM method ensures data against corruption when integrating the storing capacities of all together connected disk drives.
  • the communication interface (40) is used to connect to a computer, is connected to the control module (10) and may further comprise an interface controller (41) and an interface connector (42).
  • the interface controller (41) is connected to the control module (10) through the PCI interface.
  • the interface connector (42) is connected to the interface controller (41) and may be a USB connector.
  • the computer when the medium of the present invention is connected to a computer through the communication interface (40), the computer will detect medium of the present invention not as multiple memory cards and memory devices connected to the computer but as a single storage medium connected to the computer.
  • the described medium integrates the storing capacities of all connected memory cards and memory device in one and creates a named ⁇ Barebone volume having 4 gigabytes storing capacity.
  • the control module (10) integrates the 1 gigabytes storing capacity of the newly added memory card into the storing capacity of the ⁇ Barebone volume so the storing capacity of the ⁇ Barebone volume becomes 5 gigabytes.
  • an unmount request should be generated mechanically or electronically and sent to the control module (10).
  • the control module (10) After receiving and acknowledging the unmount request, the control module (10) will execute the LVM method to move data stored in the impendingly removed memory card to other connected memory cards and memory devices. After that the control module (10) allows to unmount the impendingly removed memory card from the medium. Therefore, the present invention integrates the storing capacities of multiple memory cards and memory device even the memory cards and memory device have different storing capacities. Accordingly, it is convenient for users to change the storing capacity of the medium based on different requirements.
  • the present invention may further comprise an optional display module (50), an optional audio module (60) and an operation module (70) to play audio and video data, and the control module (10) may further have a video output terminal sending digital video data and an audio output terminal sending digital audio data.
  • the display module (50) is connected to the video output terminal of the control module (10) to display videos and may be a liquid crystal display (LCD).
  • LCD liquid crystal display
  • the audio module (60) is connected to the audio output terminal of the control module (10) to play sounds and may comprise a digital to analog converter (DAC) (62), an amplifying circuit (61) and a speaker (63).
  • DAC digital to analog converter
  • the DAC (62) is connected to the audio output terminal of the control module (10) to transform the digital audio data into analog audio signals.
  • the amplifying circuit (61) has an input terminal and an output terminal.
  • the input terminal of the amplifying circuit (61) is connected to the DAC (62) so the amplifying circuit (61) amplifies the analog audio signals.
  • the speaker (63) is connected to the output terminal of the amplifying circuit (61) to play sounds.
  • the operation module (70) is connected to the control module (10), is used to allow users to control the present invention and may be multiple buttons or a touch panel.
  • the medium in accordance with the present invention either performs as a removable storage medium or a multimedia player, such as a MP3 or MP4 player, having resizable storing capacity.
EP08251548A 2008-04-28 2008-04-28 Support pour l'intégration de capacités de stockage de dispositifs de stockage multiples Withdrawn EP2113832A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP08251548A EP2113832A1 (fr) 2008-04-28 2008-04-28 Support pour l'intégration de capacités de stockage de dispositifs de stockage multiples

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP08251548A EP2113832A1 (fr) 2008-04-28 2008-04-28 Support pour l'intégration de capacités de stockage de dispositifs de stockage multiples

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP2113832A1 true EP2113832A1 (fr) 2009-11-04

Family

ID=39797979

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP08251548A Withdrawn EP2113832A1 (fr) 2008-04-28 2008-04-28 Support pour l'intégration de capacités de stockage de dispositifs de stockage multiples

Country Status (1)

Country Link
EP (1) EP2113832A1 (fr)

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2001038987A2 (fr) * 1999-11-29 2001-05-31 Microsoft Corporation Systeme de gestion memoire a gestionnaire de volume commun
WO2007026380A2 (fr) * 2005-08-29 2007-03-08 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Procede et appareil pouvant fournir un espace memoire dans un reseau

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2001038987A2 (fr) * 1999-11-29 2001-05-31 Microsoft Corporation Systeme de gestion memoire a gestionnaire de volume commun
WO2007026380A2 (fr) * 2005-08-29 2007-03-08 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Procede et appareil pouvant fournir un espace memoire dans un reseau

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